Has anyone had their house exterminated, what to do w/ T's??

Hey all!

I have some questions, and I hope someone here has been in my shoes. About a month ago, we got a little kitten from the pet store. Well guess what we found out the hard way? It had fleas! And now, I have seen a flea
or 2 in my house So, we are going to have it exterminated to be safe. HERE is my problem.

The exterminator, let's say, bug man, wants to spray, and us leave for 4-6 hours. That must me some strong stuff! I have a room just for my T's. I was going to move them outside somehow, that is 30+ cages, and bring them back in that night. He is coming at 8:30 Thurs. and will be done about 9. That leaves them outside (while I am at work) until 4:30. That means 5pm will be about 8 hours. Will it be safe to bring them in that night? I have went through this before, but wasn't as cautious The place I want to put them would be outside in my garage area. But seperating that garage is a door, in which he will be spraying that room. So they will be on the other side of that door!

My hubby didn't know, and he said something about just leaving them in that room, sealed off. THERE is NO WAY I am taking that chance. This has me all nervous. They want to come back in 2 weeks for an update spray. That means doing this all over again. But the thought of my little babies getting any kind of pesticide on them makes me very sad.

Can some of you all offer some suggestions?? When I called the place, I asked them about my fish, and they said to turn the filters off and stuff and that even worries me. The fish will be w/o their filters, etc. for 8 hours!

I would love to get some opinions or ideas from some of you. BTW, the weather is calling for a nice week, so no rain is in the forecast. They wouldn't be sitting outside my front door. They would be around back.

Thanks all!

Call friends and relatives and see if any of them can spider-sit for a couple weeks. I wouldn't give all 30+ of your Ts to one person. If any accept, give them care sheets for the Ts so they know what they're doing. Explain the situation to them first before saying "Hey, can you take a few tarantulas for a week of two?"

Humm this is never a good thing but i cant help but think using a life cycle breaking treatment on the cat (from a vet) would make much more sense as the cat could pick them up again, house spraying for cat fleas sounds way OTT, BTW where’s Code he knows all about this stuff.

Fumigating...

Hey,
You need to remove your T's for a few days. I wouldn't take the chance of seeping pesticide killing your babies.
Greg

FryLock said:

Humm this is never a good thing but i cant help but think using a life cycle breaking treatment on the cat (from a vet) would make much more sense as the cat could pick them up again, house spraying for cat fleas sounds way OTT, BTW where’s Code he knows all about this stuff.

Click to expand...

What does OTT mean?

The cat was at the Vet all weekend, and received a Program shot (for fleas, and lasts 6 months), and Frontline. There is no scratching now. I vacuumed,
threw the bag away. But see, if they laid eggs, and I don't get it exterminated, it will happen all over again. Sure, they won't get on the cat,
but they will be PESTS and keep multiplying.

I don't plan on letting anyone keep my spideys for a week. All they do is spray your carpet. There is no fume, or fog, like a bomb you buy or anything.
Just spray.

Thanks for the replies!

Some info on this >Here< speak to your vet about lufenuron controls more info >Here<

quote

"Lufenuron (e.g., Program®) is taken in pill form (or as an injection in cats). It works by sterilizing the fleas, preventing them from reproducing, and eventually eliminating the flea population. Because lufenuron doesn’t actually kill the fleas, it should be used with an insecticide to achieve the fastest, most effective flea control. It is more effective in controlling infestations and is of little benefit in treating flea allergy dermatitis. There are several similar systemic (taken in pill form or via injection) medications."

Sounds a lot better then house spraying IMO.

Greg Wolfe said:

Hey,
You need to remove your T's for a few days. I wouldn't take the chance of seeping pesticide killing your babies.
Greg

Click to expand...

Well, like I said, I have done this before, same people. We had guinea pigs...
they had fleas. You would think we learned!

Anyway, I had taken all the spideys out, and sat them on the back of our truck for about 8 hours. And brought them back in. That was 3 years ago.

I guess I am much more attatched to them now. I just won't let them spray the spidey room at all, and just the other rooms. That way, when I bring them back in, it won't be any in there. What do you all think about that?

FryLock said:

Some info on this >Here< speak to your vet about lufenuron controls more info >Here<

quote

"Lufenuron (e.g., Program®) is taken in pill form (or as an injection in cats). It works by sterilizing the fleas, preventing them from reproducing, and eventually eliminating the flea population. Because lufenuron doesn’t actually kill the fleas, it should be used with an insecticide to achieve the fastest, most effective flea control. It is more effective in controlling infestations and is of little benefit in treating flea allergy dermatitis. There are several similar systemic (taken in pill form or via injection) medications."

Sounds a lot better then house spraying IMO.

Click to expand...

Well, the shot is called Program. And we also used Frontline on him. We wanted to take care of him before we sprayed. And this is a 3-4 week thing.
They come back in 2 weeks to spray again. I have to vacuum EVERY day for 2 weeks and throw away the bag. THAT is going to cost, since 5 bags are like $10! lol

Thanks for your links Frylock!

If the room were they live is not sprayed i would think it would be fine, my only worry would be if it the stuff used may have a longish life but by keeping that room free of it you should be in the pink, anyhow when the lufenuron kicks in the one's feeding now it sould be goodbye to the little basstruds .

BTW OTT "over the top"

FryLock said:

If the room were they live is not sprayed i would think it would be fine, my only worry would be if it the stuff used may have a longish life but by keeping that room free of it you should be in the pink, anyhow when the lufenuron kicks in the one's feeding now it sould be goodbye to the little basstruds .

BTW OTT "over the top"

Click to expand...

I hope so!!! I don't think it would hurt to NOT spray that room. It is small,
and I think we are getting them early, since we have not seen any since we
sent him to the vet. He stayed Sat. morning through last night. And we vacuumed, cleaned, etc. He had the "shot" lol and the Frontline. I hope the
combo doesn't hurt him. He seemed fine last night....

GOOD links!

Keep um' going yall

Pity lufenuron is not over the counter (tho the maybe good reason its not) i had too down one of my mouse colony’s once because of fleas it would have been no problem to skip a gen or two as feeders until the drug was out of there systems hope all goes well anyhow i used too be paranoid about insecticides around inverts as a lad.

I think the fleas will disappear before you know it with the cat on Program. We used Advantage on our furkids, and the fleas cycle was broken, and have not had a problem for years. The only disadvantage to Advantage (no pun untended ) is that you have to know the flea cycles in your area so as to not use Advantage all year long, whereas with Program, it doesn't matter, they just get the injection anyways.

firefox2 said:

I think the fleas will disappear before you know it with the cat on Program. We used Advantage on our furkids, and the fleas cycle was broken, and have not had a problem for years. The only disadvantage to Advantage (no pun untended ) is that you have to know the flea cycles in your area so as to not use Advantage all year long, whereas with Program, it doesn't matter, they just get the injection anyways.

Click to expand...

I am just too afraid to take that chance. I am not sure what to do. I think I will do this first spraying, and see how that works. I am just too worried to
not spray.

But it does make sense though....if Program sterilizes them, they can't lay eggs. So every egg that hatches that turns into an adult that got on him would be useless. But what about the ones that don't? It is $65 to spray.
I would rather use that money on a T!

Fleas do not survive where I live. I came from Los Angeles (Norwalk) and my dogs had fleas. About after a week of moving here the fleas were dead. Those types of fleas can't survive this environment. The desert fleas that are native here also have a problem. For example they can't live in air conditioned houses.

Oh man, I feel for you with those fleas. I hate those fuggers, we've had cats for years but *never* had fleas, then 2 years ago we took in a stray that had kittens and presto -- house full 'o fleas. And it took us almost a year to get them under control and destroyed, it got pretty bad before it was over. That was also the summer our central air pooped out on us and it only got fixed this summer, so, it was a slice of hell, to be sure.

The ONLY things we used were Frontline, flea collars, carpet powder/ vaccuuming and flea combs, and we were giga-infested for a couple months. I've never heard of ppl coming out to spray for fleas, but I can understand the desire for them to be gone, like NOW. :}

i just Black Knighted my reptile room (where i keep the t's as well) and just stuck them in the closet thats farthest away from that room. it was thursday and i still haven't put them back yet, lol. all the crickets keep dying in the cages so i'm still a little iffy. maybe i'll put them back tomorrow.
n e suggestions on when i should put them back???

emilsmee

Have you searched around? Coz' I vaguely remember seeing a thread in this board about special kinds of treatment. Something like non-spraying type insecticides, and perhaps sprays that's heavier than air so you can keep your T's on higher ground safely. Ask your exterminator, they might know and have the exact thing you need.